Middle-of-the-night PCI does not affect subsequent day PCI success and complication rates by the same operator

Day-after PCI: Safe for the patient but perhaps not for the Interventionalist

This single-center study retrospectively reviewed 12,680 percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) to identify those performed by an operator who was awake the previous night performing PCI. Success and outcomes of PCIs were similar regardless of whether the operator performed PCIs the previous night. This study generally confirms the results of a previous single center study and another study using the NCDR CathPCI Registry. This study suggests that day-after PCI is generally safe, but it behooves cath lab managers and interventionalists to take simple steps to minimize the risk to patients when day-after PCIs are performed.

Sleep deprivation in interventional cardiology: Implications for patient care and physician-health

The burden and impact of sleep deprivation on both patient care and on the health of interventional cardiologists is not well understood. Due to the nature of emergent procedures occurring in the cardiac catheterization laboratory, interventionalists are prone to suffer from acute and/or chronic sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation has been associated with numerous adverse effects, such as impaired performance, cognitive deficits, reduced psychomotor vigilance, and workplace errors and injuries, among many others. Although sleep deprivation has been linked to more errors in trainees, there is paucity of data addressing outcomes in interventional cardiology. The purpose of this overview is to explore the possible impact of sleep deprivation on interventional cardiology in relation to patient care and physician health, and examine potential approaches to this issue.